“Such a superstar and so ungracious,” wrote a user on Twitter.

“A poor lady sang on a railway platform for a living. #RanuMondal’s voice was miraculously noticed by SM and she became a star. Inspiring Lata ji could have been more gracious, complimented and helped her. This lecture on ‘imitation’ was avoidable,” another user said.

A user “disagreed” with Mangeshkar and called her “a bit harsh”, while another said that this could have been taken in “true spirits by a senior artist like Lataji”.

In an interview to IANS, Lata Mangeshkar had said that “Agar mere naam aur kaam se kissiko bhala hota hai toh main apne-aap ko khush-kismat samajhti hoon (If anyone benefits from my name and work, I feel fortunate).”

“But I also feel imitation is not a reliable and durable companion for success. By singing my songs or Kishoreda’s (Kumar), or (Mohd) Rafi Saab’s, or Mukesh Bhaiyya or Asha’s (Bhosle) numbers, aspiring singers can get short-term attention. But it won’t last”

Mondal, who has now recorded three tracks for Bollywood singer-composer Himesh Reshammiya, became an overnight social media sensation after a video of her singing Lata Mangeshkar’s soulful number “Ek pyaar ka nagma hai” at Ranaghat railway platform went viral on the internet.

The video has paved the way for her phenomenal rise from a street singer to a debutante playback singer in Bollywood.